READ: First Official Loch Ness Monster Sighting of 2024 is Recorded

Apr 24

Brace yourselves: the first official Loch Ness Monster sighting of 2024 has finally been recorded — and it’s just as blurry as you’d expect it to be!

When Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman, a Canadian couple in Wimbledon, whisked their family off to Loch Ness, they probably didn't expect to become tabloid sensations. Yet, here we are. During a chilly April escapade, they snapped a photo that had some monster enthusiasts whispering, "Nessie, is that you?"

In reporting the story behind the photo, Malm claimed, "At first thought was driftwood, but slowly but surely made it's way north towards the castle. Looked like a head above the waves. Was difficult to determine with naked eye."

Malm later described the blob in the water as "bigger than a Sasquatch but smaller than Ogopogo," which really narrows it down to, well, anything in the water. Wiseman mused it might be a seal, though she was quickly informed Loch Ness isn't exactly a seal hangout.

Despite the alleged creature’s distance from camera and classic blurry quality, the image rocketed across the U.K. press as 2024's first Nessie sighting. After submitting the photo partly in jest to the "Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register," the couple were tickled to find it declared the year's first official sighting. Malm wryly noted, "We're not tinfoil-hat-wearing folks," but he's not entirely dismissing their weekend encounter as a brush with the supernatural.

Expert opinions on the true identity of the Loch Ness Monster range from lost dinosaurs to giant eels to complete hoax, but no matter what the experts claim, the legend of Nessie endures, drawing crowds eager to spot something—anything—in the murky depths. Malm and Wiseman’s Loch Ness adventure, whether they spotted a prehistoric creature or just a very confused piece of driftwood, reminds us that the world is full of mysteries — you might just have to squint to see them.